What does the State of MN require the seller of a vehicle licensed in Minnesota to do or report when a vehicle is sold through a private party sale?

Answer: This is a great question. When you sell a vehicle, you (owner/seller) are responsible to file the “Notice of Sale” within ten days of the sale. This is located in the lower portion of the “Certificate of Title”, and you would tear that small piece off. The information you would include would be the transferee’s full name, address, driver’s license number, and date of sale. Mail to: Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services Division, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-5168. This can also be filed over the internet at mndriveinfo.org, or call 651-284-1234. This notice is not required if sold to a licensed dealer. For your protection, upon the sale of a vehicle to a private party, it is recommended that the seller and buyer take the completed transfer to a deputy registrar.

I’ve seen several incidents where people had sold vehicles and failed to file the “notice of sale”. This has caused several issues and headaches for the former vehicle owners later down the road. Some of these included hit and run crashes and numerous other types of criminal activity. One of the most recent that I investigated was a person that sold a vehicle and many months later it turned up in another state being used for illegal drug activity. The new owner never transferred the title or registered the vehicle. The vehicle was being used as a “mule” for transporting large amounts of drugs, cash, and weapons. This resulted in several serious phone calls to the former vehicle owner from several different law enforcement agencies. The innocent owner was very concerned having no idea what was going on. The former owner had sold the vehicle many months ago to a person that claimed to not have any identification and sold it for cash. Fortunately the owner DID complete the “notice of sale” on the internet immediately after the sale. This helped clear up several issues in reference to the ongoing investigations, but only after the former owner spent several hours and days on paperwork and other legal issues to clear his name. If selling a vehicle, I strongly suggest viewing a valid form of identification from the new owner. If not, I’d most certainly be going to the deputy registrar with the buyer.

If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota send your questions to Trp. Jesse Grabow – Minnesota State Patrol at 1000 Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-2205. (Or reach him at, jesse.grabow@state.mn.us)